Using Modulation Response to Determine Dynamical Parameters and Appropriate Models for Single-Mode Lasers

Abstract

The modulation of parameters of single-mode and multimode lasers has frequently been used to generate giant “Q-switched” pulses. This modulation is particularly effective when it is matched to the damped relaxation oscillation frequency (or when it is a slightly lower value to match the longer periodicity of the giant pulses) [1]. The nonlinear response of a CO2 laser to modulation was used by Arecchi and coworkers in one of the earliest studies of optical chaos [2]. Further experiments have been performed with cavity loss, gain, and cavity length modulation in CO2 lasers [3–6], primarily for the study of nonlinear dynamics (period doublings, chaos, crises, etc.).